Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps her Department has taken to facilitate the provision of education and psychosocial support for Ukrainian children who have been displaced.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground.
We are working to ensure aid agencies are able to respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £100 million, with the government matching £25 million of the publics donations. This is our largest ever aid-match contribution, which will help DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what records her Department keeps relating to staff working times under Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998; and how long those records are kept for.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We hold records of employees' contractual hours and any paid overtime worked. Staff working from home or the office are required to work their contracted hours. Where employees work beyond their contractual hours for business reasons, line managers can authorise 'time off in lieu' or overtime payments. Records of employees' contractual hours and overtime claims are retained by FCDO for 100 years from DOB or 5 years after death; whichever is shorter.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Turkish Government on (i) human rights violations by the Turkish authorities against Kurdish communities in Turkey, (ii) efforts to outlaw Kurdish political parties and (iii) imprisonment of Kurdish political prisoners; and what steps the UK Government is taking to maintain peace, stability and democracy in that region.
Answered by Wendy Morton - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We hold regular discussions, both internally and with the Turkish government on a range of issues, including human rights in Turkey and the government's legal attempts to close down the People's Democratic Party (HDP), as well as the jailing of Kurdish politicians. We are following the HDP closure case closely. We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes or actions against opposition parties fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey, including at Ministerial level, to insist that it fulfils its international legal obligations to secure the human rights of all people, regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the areas of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees. We also encourage a return to talks around a peace process. We will hold Turkey to account using established international mechanisms, and look for opportunities to raise these issues with our international partners.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will publish the business case from the British Council in respect of the restructuring plans, including the (a) financial cost of the pay bill and (b) numbers of staff likely to be affected.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
It is for the British Council to comment on the terms of their restructuring plans.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish the terms and conditions of the loan imposed by her Department on the British Council.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The FCDO has provided a £100million loan to support the British Council's restructuring plan. The loan was made in line with the Market Economy Operator Principle to ensure the UK government complied with state aid regulation and the terms were commercially comparable. As these loans are intended to support the Council's commercial operations, assessments have been conducted on the British Council's financial data and credit worthiness to ensure the terms are in line with those which any private operator would provide.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average pay bill is for an employee of the British Council, including National Insurance and pension contributions.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The British Council publishes staff costs as part of its Annual Accounts. It would be for the British Council to comment on more detailed payments.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has applied EU state rules to the loan provided to the British Council; and whether those rules still apply after the UK's exit from the EU.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The FCDO has provided a £100m loan to support the British Council's restructuring plan. The loan was made in line with the Market Economy Operator Principle to ensure the UK government complied with state aid regulation. The UK is still required to be in compliance with several international obligations on state subsidies and needs to ensure that subsidies do not have a competitive advantage in the market it operates in and fair trade is not distorted.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the future earnings of the British Council after the sale of its IELTS business in India.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The FCDO worked closely with the British Council, UK Government Investments, Ernst & Young, and Lazard to assess the sale of the IELTS business in India. The offer was fair and reasonable, and the proceeds from the sale will strengthen the British Council's financial position and support its modernisation process.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many roles in the British Council her Department plans to privatise between 2021 and 2022; and how many of those roles will be based (a) overseas and (b) in the UK.
Answered by James Cleverly - Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The FCDO has no plans to privatise any British Council roles.